Film Talk: Looking Back – It's A Knight's Tale, and he will rock you

Written, produced, and directed by Brian Helgeland, 2001’s A Knight’s Tale is a medieval romance flick like no other and stars the late, great Heath Ledger in one of the finest turns we were lucky enough to see him fulfil.

Also starring Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, Laura Fraser, James Purefoy and a fantastic Paul Bettany, this film is a feel good romp with both heart and attitude, and deserves a place on the go-to classic shelf of any movie fan’s collection.

Following the story of a peasant named William (Ledger) who poses as a noble knight and earns jousting tournament success beyond his birthright, this film ticks the incredible range of boxes of being a sports/rom-com/underdog/period/action flick and delivers on every single one.

Can a man truly change his stars? You’d better believe it...

After the untimely death of jousting knight Sir Ector in the middle of a match, the knight’s peasant squire William Thatcher dons the dead knight’s armour and, with the help of his friends Roland (Addy) and Wat (Tudyk), completes the match and wins the tournament.

As the trio depart and head home, William convinces his two pals that he can change his stars by perpetuating a rouse that he is of noble birth, and entering other nobles-only jousting tournaments where the blood may not be real, but the prize pots certainly are.

Striking up an unlikely friendship with gambling addict and unknown writer Geoffrey Chaucer (Bettany), William has his noble lineage as ‘Sir Ulrich Von Lichtenstein’ forged to perfection, and the gang begin their crusade of tournament domination.

The scheme does not come without complications however, when jousting ace Count Adhemar (Sewell) develops a rivalry with William, and one not just confined to the tournament field. With both men in pursuit of the beautiful Jocelyn (Sossamon), the stakes are of the heart as well as of knightly honour. And with Adhemar bent on bringing William down by any means necessary, the latter’s deception may prove his undoing...

Receiving mixed reviews at the time of its release, A Knight’s Tale grossed $117.5 million against a budget of $65 million. The film was nominated for three awards at the 2002 MTV Movie Awards. Shannyn Sossamon was nominated for Breakthrough Female performance, losing to Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember. The film was also nominated for Best Kiss and Best Musical Sequence, losing to American Pie 2 and Moulin Rouge!, respectively.

Throughout a Knight’s Tale the performances of the entire cast were exemplary, with particular kudos due to Ledger and Bettany. In this film, Ledger showed the assured promise of great things to come, and Bettany gave what is perhaps his finest turn to date. Sewell was delicious as the dastardly villain, while Mark Addy, as the eternally lovable northern everyman, was as delightful, funny and charming as he is every time he steps in front of the camera.

Perhaps above everything else though, this film remains a joy to watch because it appears that those who were making it were having genuine fun while doing so. And with smart dialogue, cutting humour and a fantastic soundtrack to boot, it is impossible not to fall head over heels for this flick.

Over two decades on, it quite rightly brings a tear to the eye to watch Ledger do his thing and know that his days were tragically numbered.

For this film and all that preceded and followed sir, you have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found not wanting in the slightest.